New Delhi: Law is taking its course.
Working under the directives of the Calcutta High Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday (October 9) arrested as many as 11 people, including Mamata Banerjee's election agent in Nandigram Sk Sufian's son-in-law Sk Habibul in a post-poll murder case.
The case involves the murder (death) of BJP worker Debabrata Maity, whom Trinamool Congress workers allegedly eliminated. This is the first time CBI arrested so many people in this case. On Friday, the premier probe agency nabbed two people, including a minor, in a case of murdering a man during post-poll violence. Rajendra Sharma and a minor were held in connection with the killing of Palash Mondal reported on June 14. On Saturday morning, all the accused were asked to present at the Calcutta Port Trust guest house in Haldia, 40 km away from Nandigram.
In a fiercely contested election in Nandigram earlier this year, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee lost to her arch-rival Suvendu Adhikari of BJP.
The accused included Sheikh Baitul Islam, son-in-law of Trinamool leader Sufian, the head of Nandigram's Anchal No 4 (area), Sheikh Shahabuddin Kendamari and Sheikh Habibur Rahman. The CBI also arrested others in the case.
The arrest of Sufian's son-in-law is seen as a setback to the state's ruling party, whose role for the post-poll violence came in for severe criticism by the BJP and the Calcutta High Court.
The local media, however, did not report much on the gory episode.
A charge sheet filed earlier had Sk Mijanur, Sk Fatenur and Sk Emdadul Islam, who were arrested by Nandigram police following investigations.
Debabrata Maiti, a BJP activist from Chillagram in Nandigram, was killed after the results of the state assembly elections were declared.
Of course, the arrest soon sparked tensions in the locality and near the ad hoc CBI camp in Haldia. Local grassroots activists gathered and started raising slogans, reports said. Later, a police contingent of Haldia police station reached the spot, and all the accused were produced in the Haldia sub-divisional court.
In a huge setback to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government, which blatantly remained indifferent to people's agony during post-poll violence, the Calcutta High Court had on August 19 ordered a CBI probe and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The West Bengal government was asked to 'immediately hand over' all matters pertaining to the cases to the CBI. The reports of the CBI and the SIT have to be submitted before the Court within six weeks.
"It shall be a court monitored investigation and any obstruction in the course of investigation by anyone shall be viewed seriously," the court had said.
